Board of Governors

Will Langley

Board Chair

Keys resident since 2010. Realtor for Berkshire Hathaway Knight & Gardner Realty, and a partner of Knight/ Gardener/ Langley Commercial Services Team. Owned and operated several successful tourism-based businesses throughout the Caribbean. Received Berkshire Hathaway Legend Award and KW Association of Realtors’ Rookie of the Year. Former Board member, KW Association of Realtors, KW Yacht Club (Fleet Captain), and founding member of KW Young Professional’s Network. Degrees in Government and Political Science and Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management from North Carolina State University. Avid boater and pilot.

Jodi Weinhofer

Secretary

President and CEO of The Lodging Association of the Florida Keys & Key West, a nonprofit trade organization representing the lodging industry and the businesses that work with lodging. Jodi has served as President since 2005. Previously worked in property management, real estate and tourism since moving to the Keys 30 years ago.  She is currently a member all 5 Chambers of Commerce, the Key West Attractions Association, the Key West Business Guild and is a member of the Government and Legislative Affairs Committee and the Tourism Committee for the Key West Chamber. She is a proud graduate of Leadership Monroe County – Class 14.  She served on the board of Leadership Monroe County from 2007 to 2017.  She has served on 2 Monroe County Affordable Housing Advisory Committees and the Monroe County Airport Taskforce.  Originally from New Jersey. BA degree from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

Marian Buccafurni

Chair – Investments and Grants

Key Colony resident since 2007, lives part of the year in Monterey, California. Active member of the Community Foundation for Monterey County. Former board president and major donor of the Women’s Fund; created several annual fund raisers in Monterey, established programs to benefit girls’ health and those in need of small loans. Law school graduate in 1979. Diverse business background in the medical, science and legal fields. Created with her husband a biotechnology company, Litmus Concepts, Inc., in California. Raised more than $30 million in private equity; sold the firm in 2000 to devote their time to philanthropy.

Ron Burd

Chair – Governance and Development

Retired Exec. VP, Strategy and Organization Development, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (TJUH). Served 20 years as President/CEO of Devereux. Fulfilled a lifelong dream, restoring and sailing a 45-foot sailboat from Maine to the Caribbean with his wife, Joyce; became licensed Coast Guard Captain. Graduated with honors, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Founding Chair, Child Mental Health Div. of Child Welfare League of America; leadership positions, Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and World Presidents Organization (WPO); board member, Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine.

Bobby Highsmith

Bobby is managing partner of Highsmith & Van Loon and has achieved a successful 30+ year career specializing in estate planning. He is the only attorney in the Florida Keys who is Board Certified in Wills, Trusts and Estates. Born and raised in Key West, Bobby was valedictorian of Key West High School. He fulfilled his dream of starting on a Division 1 college football team at Duke University, which he attended on a full athletic scholarship.  He went on to graduate from University of Florida Law School. Bobby is a former board chair of the Community Foundation, was Chancellor of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church,  and has served on the boards of the Monroe County School District and the Tennessee Williams Theatre.

Warren Leamard

Principal of Destination Catering & Events. Served as president of the Key West Sunrise Rotary Club and on the boards of the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity of Key West & the Lower Keys, the Monroe County Affordable Housing Task Force, the Montessori Children’s School, and as a Monroe County volunteer firefighter. Born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica and moved to Key West in 1985. Married to his business partner Abby and they have two daughters, Alison and Felicia.

Laura Lietaert

Principal of Coral Shores High School. Former principal, vice principal and teacher at Key Largo School. Named Monroe County School District “Principal of the Year” for 2017-2018. Member, AVID Eastern Division Principals’ Collaborative among numerous other committees. President, Rotary Club of Key Largo; Grant reviewer, United Way of the Florida Keys; 2019 nominee for Woman of Distinction, Upper Keys Business and Professional Women; member, Key Largo and Islamorada Chambers of Commerce; past director, Kids Come First. ME, American College of Education; BS, Florida International University.

Heidi Morris

Owner of The UPS Store® in Big Pine Key, has lived full-time in the Keys since 2017. Chair of the Community Foundation’s Lower Keys Advisory Council. President of the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Lower Keys Rotary Club, a Leadership Monroe graduate, founding volunteer of the Monroe Emergency Reserve Corps, an emergency shelter manager and an amateur radio operator. Graduated with a business degree from Westin College, climbed the corporate ladder at Radio Shack, and ran a successful business in Colorado for over a decade. Lives in Summerland Key with her husband and they have three children.

Larry Nolt

Over 42 years of experience in estate and charitable planning and over 32 years in financial, trust and banking services. Past president and investment manager for a regional financial advisors unit of BB&T. Bachelor’s degree in management and accounting from Elizabethtown College, MBA from James Madison University, and a graduate of the Community Foundation’s Leadership Success Academy. Served on the Unity of the Keys Spiritual Center finance committee and was the Volunteer of the Year for the Guidance/Care Center. Married to Sherry G Read, and they enjoy visiting their hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He has three children and seven grandchildren residing in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Ken Silverman

Ken Silverman is a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management with degrees in engineering and computer science. He retired to Key West in 2012 after a 30 + year career in the New York City residential real estate management and sales industry, concentrating in high end luxury housing, middle income investment properties, and assisted and regulated housing. In his retirement he manages Key West commercial properties including the 400 block of Duval Street and the Overseas Market Shopping Center anchored by Winn-Dixie.

He and his wife Kate spend part of the year in Amagansett, New York.

Andrea Spottswood

Long-time Key West resident. Certified Public Accountant. Partner in the firm Moore & Spottswood. Appointed by the Governor to the Florida Board of Accountancy in 1992, served as its Board Chair in 1996, and as Chair of Probable Cause Panel and member of Professional Education Committee. Member, Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Board member, Keys to Be the Change; treasurer for more than 30 years, Key West United Methodist Church; Financial advisor since its inception, Samuel’s House. Graduated with High Honors from University of Florida. Andrea and her husband Bill have three children: son Billy, daughter Lande, and son Chas.

Staff

Jennifer McComb

President & CEO

Jennifer has raised millions of dollars to further philanthropy in the Keys. Professional leadership roles previously with Ocean Reef Community Foundation, United Way of the Florida Keys, Good Health Clinic, and the Florida Keys Children’s Shelter. Also worked at the University of Central Florida and Florida International University. Bachelor’s degree in English from Cornell University, Master’s degree in Marketing from Northwestern University, and Nonprofit Certificates from Rollins College. Graduate of Leadership Monroe County, former Take Stock in Children mentor, and served on several nonprofit boards. Member of Key West Sunrise Rotary, founded Key Largo Sunset Rotary, and was president of Key Largo Rotary (2018-19).

Lainie Plotnik, CPA

Chief Financial Officer

Lainie has been serving on the Community Foundation’s Lower Keys Advisory Council for over a year as a charter member. Lainie is a Certified Public Accountant and moved to the Keys in 2021 from Fort Myers. Prior to that, Lainie lived in Minnesota and worked for ALLETE-Minnesota Power in various roles. In addition, she was a long-standing board member of the United Way, where she served on the grants committee. In her spare time, Lainie enjoys shelling, biking, cooking, and fishing with her husband Paul.

Elizabeth Brown

Vice President of Philanthropy

Elizabeth Brown is an executive nonprofit professional with a passion for community engagement, philanthropy, and sustainable organization development. She brings over 15 years of experience with a variety of nonprofits including leadership and consulting roles. Elizabeth was most recently the Deputy Director of Advancement for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art. Elizabeth has a Master of Public Policy from Duke University; her undergraduate education includes both a Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Auburn University. She also holds a Sunshine Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Florida Association of Nonprofits.

Kevin Bowes

Director of Philanthropic Services

Prior to joining the Community Foundation Kevin worked at Florida State Parks overseeing volunteer programs, educational outreach, and events for Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida with experience in graphic design, event management, sound and video production, and photography. Volunteered with the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center, Florida Keys Wildlife Society, Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida, Horace O’Bryant School, Key West Art and Historical Society, Key West Preschool Cooperative, Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, Key West Wildlife Center, and Sigsbee Elementary.

AmeriCorps Vista

Kelly “Kel” Bedard

AmeriCorps Member

Managing operations and outreach for the Florida Keys Volunteer Center, helping nonprofit organizations expand their efficiency, effectiveness and/or program reach by using volunteers. Kel has both Doctor of Ministry and Master of Divinity degrees from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, and over 30 years of community outreach experience. This includes a practicum living in a homeless shelter, co-founding an early childhood center; and co-founding a disaster response non-profit in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Here in the Keys, Kel has served as a mobile crisis counselor for WestCare’s Guidance/Care Center since 2020.

Christian Taylor

AmeriCorps Member

Christian will be employing and expanding our social media apps and platform to assist in the Center’s recruitment, training, managing and recognizing of volunteers. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Christian will be serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA member. His specialties include social media creation, design, and management; increasing brand awareness; and marketing strategies and program materials. When Christian is not helping us expand the reach of our Volunteer Center, he enjoys teaching yoga and meditation.

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